Known as the "snack capital of the world" for being the home of Utz, and Snyder's brand chips, pretzels, etc the borough of Hanover sits roughly 20 minutes to the southwest of York City. Hanover was founded in 1763, and was later incorporated in 1815. The first organized fire station came a year later in December of 1816. As the town continued to grow, so did the need for fire protection adding two more fire houses in 1903, and 1965. The department would continue to operate using this set up all the way up to 2018.

On February 1st of 2018, the Hanover Fire Department and nearby Penn Township officially merged to become the Hanover Area Fire-Rescue. A combination department (career and volunteer) that would cover all of 3.70 square miles of Hanover, and the 12.9 square miles that make up Penn Township as well as the surround communities with fire and EMS services.

Today, the Hanover Fire-Rescue operates three fire stations, (one original fire station to Hanover was closed prior to the merger). As mentioned above, this combination department has 30 career personnel, 50 volunteers, and 30 career EMS personnel. With a new Pierce pumper slated to arrive in 2025, the department currently operates (2) aerial pieces, (3) engines, a rescue, air unit, SCUBA, (3) support units, and a fleet of ambulances.